Non-driving single parent and a 3 year old, your tips please for camping at a festival!

[catsofa]

I've been to plenty of festivals on my own and with friends, but this August bank holiday I'll be taking my son to a small one for the first time.

He's 3, I'll be on my own with him, and I don't drive so we'll be doing public transport - two trains and a bus.

Anyone got any tips please?

I'm taking our McLaren pushchair which I know will be crap on grass but at least it leaves me a little bit mobile when he falls asleep in it, and it'll help with carrying some of our stuff to the site.

I've managed to get our tent and sleeping bags sent on ahead they should be there when we arrive, giving me slightly less to carry.

Thinking I'll take powdered milk just in case he won't go to sleep without a bottle.

Obviously warm clothes for us both. Sandals and wellies will cover footwear for him I think.

I'll have to just buy all our food and drink as I really can't carry more than snacks. What snacks would be good? I tend to find you get big expensive meals only at festivals and its that or cake, which isn't ideal. If there's a toast stall we'll live on toast, I could maybe take crackers but what to put on them?

Any other insights would be most gratefully received!

I would take snacks like cereal bars, nuts and chocolate. I think you're very brave! Is it a music festival or a kids type festival?

Thanks I'd forgotten about cereal bars, can't starve on those! Scared he'd choke on nuts and chocolate will melt in the tent if it's at all hot.

It's not a music festival just a chilled out little one with loads for kids. A friend lives nearby so we could always bail if really desperate, which is why I'm trying this as our first one ever.

If you're going to Into the Wild there will be a tonne of really lovely food stands about with good healthy snacking options too. Regardless of destination just keep things simple with bananas, rice cakes, Soreen fruit loaves etc. Stuff that stores. Peanut/cashew nut butter is always handy for crackers. And those snack sized boxes of dried fruit don't take up much room.

Depending on your budget it might be worth considering a festival wagon rather than taking your buggy. You can fit loads more in and it'll do better on bumpy or boggy ground. It will also easily take a conked out child. You can zhush it up with fairy lights or glow sticks to entice him inside!

Take way more wash cloths/wipes than you think you'll need and a big water carrying bottle so you're not stuck in tap queues with a fidgety child who wants to explore. Sticks or canes to upend muddy or wet wellies onto so they dry. A dustpan and brush for the tent. A cheap ground sheet for outside where you can spread out. Bubbles, crayons and paper and other distracting objects for your little one to buy you some time.

Above all hope you guys have fun!

Thanks some great ideas there! Will take notes tomorrow when I start my packing list.

I'm sure there will be plenty of stalls for food I'm just trying to keep the cost down with snacks really, e.g. crackers and pate might mean I can get away with not buying us lunch one day. (It's not Into the Wild, although that looks lovely!)

Trouble with a wagon is I don't think we'd be able to take it on the busses or trains! I know the pushchair will be a bit rubbish but at least it's lightweight so less to push around, and folds to fit in the tent overnight.

Luckily my kid sees it as his place of safety and gets in willingly when tired!

Any particular tips if it's muddy? I'm thinking I'll put his waterproof trousers on the outside of his wellies to stop mud falling in, and take the whole lot off together like a pair of waders so the trousers stay on the wellies ready to go back on again. But tbh I'm dreading mud. Does he need more than one pair of waterproof trousers?

I take one of those little squeezy capsules of dilutable squash for whenever we top up our water bottles.
Don't forget earplugs for sleeping and perhaps ear defenders for your DS.
You might want to buy a cheap set of battery powered fairy lights for your pushchair so other people, who might be slightly tipsy, don't bump into it. Or use glow sticks!
Make sure your DS has your mobile number on him, just in case!
We also took these Tilda Kids pouches for the dc which they happily ate cold www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/tilda-kids-veg-wholegrain-rice/838808-187547-187548?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI34q_zK7i3AIVqLztCh0CmAj3EAQYAiABEgJGf_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CN6L1dKu4twCFaGE7QodoF0A7w

Contain mud and wet clothes before you enter the tent! You need to create a way of leaving your wet muddy outer-clothes in self-contained space. I use a Moonbag.
This is a large 1 metre circle of waterproofed canvas with a drawstring and carry strap. Open up the bag in the entrance of the tent, stand wet muddy child on the circle, take off waterproof jacket or poncho and turn inside out (to keep the wet mud contained) and put it in another Moonbag or suitable wet storage area (a collapsible crate, bin liner, etc). Peel down waterproof trousers, leaving them around their wellies, and lift the child out of their wellies into the clean dry tent. Once all are inside the nice dry clean tent, pull up the drawstring of the Moonbag containing all your filthy wet wellies and trousers.
You can use something like big blue IKEA bags – the only downside is the high sides and little ones tend to trip over when stepping out of their muddy boots. You could also try a segmented collapsible car boot-tidy and have a compartment for each family member – probably the sort of thing you’d find in a Kleeneze catalogue!
Bin liners are a bit rubbish because they tear easily.

Pouches! I had completely forgotten about the existence of pouches, they'll be really useful! And more to add to my list, thank you.

I think bin liners might do OK for us as a changing mat/bag, since I've only got one small kid to sort out. Might go out in the rain today and then do a trial run getting his wet clothes off when we get back, that'll be a fun game :)

I was at a festival where they hired the sweet little covered wagons, is it worth finding out if this is available at yours? Take a newspaper or two if you have room, its good to have a pad of dryness to put shoes on in the tent.

Wow yes I'll hire one if they have them, but no mention of it on the website.

It's been so long since I did this myself I've completely forgotten everything I used to do! Adding newspaper to list...

A ten minute walk in the rain earlier was very educational, my waterproof coat isn't waterproof any more and summer rain can be a lot colder than I remembered!

Haven't had much practice with rain this summer, I'll pack more warm things than I'd planned.

Wrap bread (tortillas) make a really good snack and keep well in a tent. Assuming no allergies nut butter is a filling thing to put in it that keeps well without a fridge.

Great idea, kid will like that!

My four year old lives on snap pot baked beans, cold, at festivals (she always gets a choice, but likes them and the peel back lids make them safer and lighter than tins.

Little rice puddings, sachets of pip and nut, chocolate spread and no drain tuna all do well out of the fridge and keep my 4 yo going. Also tuna infusions/creations are good for filing a hole in a grown up tummy.

Take loads more socks than you think you will need.

If it is mad wet, pop the bottom of the sleeping bags in a black sack when you sleep to make sure they stay dry if you roll into the side of the tent.

Take travel johns, or a bucket or something. If you need a wee in the middle of the night/ first thing in the morning you might not be able to go us DS is asleep.